Focus on YOU -Part I -eyes

I’m super-excited to announce a new series coming to the DearOne Photography blog! Each post will focus on helping YOU be a better photographer!!

Professional are great- they put your in front of the camera rather than behind, you’re trusting someone who knows what they’re doing, and you’re making an investment in preserving your memories. But who always has a professional photographer to capture the day-to-day stuff?

Here are some tips to get your photos from bland to beautiful!

Part I –The eyes

As the popular saying goes, ‘the eyes are the window to the soul.’ In photography, the eyes really can make or break a photo.

“where are their eyes?”

Give your subjects something to look at- give them a certain spot in the distance, get them to look at eachother, you, or whatever they are doing/ holding.

Here are two examples.

Take a look at the eyes in the first photo. They have a direction that leads your eye to something not seen.

Now look at the second one. Honestly, what are they looking at? There’s nothing to draw your eye to, nothing to add interest and mystery to the photo.

‘Posing’ someone’s eyes is more important when shooting posed portraits than candids, but every photo should tell or partly tell a story!

 “what is the focus?”

When focussing a portrait, aim for the eyes unless there is another feature you want to highlight. For example, the focus of this photo is not K’s eyes- it’s the shiny ring on her finger! Don’t be afraid to highlight bits and pieces of something- that’s what helps tell the story!

“what are the eyes saying?”

A person’s eyes will convey a lot in a photo. Without ever seeing someone’s mouth, you can tell if someone is happy, sad, angry or bored. Few people are afraid or shy about having their eyes photographed. They may not like the shape of their body, their freckles or the scar on their arm, but eyes are usually a highlight of someone’s body.

I know getting a genuine smile out of someone isn’t always easy. Sometimes you need someone to ‘smile with their eyes.’ But how do you explain that to someone? Imagine you’re getting your photo taken, but you aren’t allowed to smile, or even move. So what do you do? You try to send whatever you are feeling out through your eyes. Try it in the mirror- give a forced smile, then a genuine one, paying particular attention to your eyes. See the difference?